My Journey into Cheese

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My husband returned home earlier this week from a business trip in Ontario. Like all good husbands returning from a business trip, he brought me a gift, but like the best husband in the word, this gift was a cheese not available locally! Take this to heart, fair readers. If you are returning from abroad and considering which gift to bring home, why not cheese? Cheese says “I love you” more than silly jewels or horrid flowers.

I have never seen this cheese before, as it seems to be available only in Ontario. This charming-looking cheddar has an old-timey wrapper-which I do appreciate. It’s from the St Albert Cheese folks, in Ontario. According to their website, people have been making cheese here under the auspices of St Albert since the end of the 19th century, and not just any cheese- but a “highly renowned Cheddar” the St-Albert.

Since its humble beginnings, five generations have continued the tradition of cheese making in St Albert. St Albert is actually run by the St-Albert Cooperative Cheese Manufacturing Association. The cooperative came together with the “collective will of a handful of Eastern Ontario milk producers determined to process their own milk,” and also includes a dairy bar, open to thousands of visitors each year. According to a tip I found online, if you go to the dairy itself, you can watch the cheese-making from a glassed-in gallery…and buy cheese “off-cuts” at a reduced price. Sounds like fun.

It looks like St Albert’s is a pretty big deal in Ontario, they have a robust line up of cheeses, and are available widely. Interestingly, it looks like there was a terrible fire last February at the cheese plant that nearly ruined operations. Thankfully, other cheese-makers stepped in (under supervision) to save the cheese. OK, now I almost want to weep, that’s one of the sweetest things ever. The St Albert’s folks also have their very own store for their products, it’s called Cheddar et Cetera . All of the cheese at St Albert’s is made of pasteurized, local (to Ontario) cow’s milk (non-organic.)

As I remove the wrapper (once again charmed by the old-timey drawing of a cow) a yummy, sharp cheddary smell emerges. Oh goody! It’s a pale white and yellow cheese with faint signs of cheddaring in the paste. I don’t see any crystals. This is the “extra-old” or “très fort”- actually, I like the phrase “très fort” better…but how old is extra aged?

Here goes…

Mmmmm. Damn fine cheese! This is a real cheddar, it tastes like what I want cheddar to be, but so often cheddar isn’t. It’s sharp and is making my saliva glands squeak happily. It’s a great mixture of salt and that astringent aged taste, but it’s also just a tiny bit sweet. It breaks apart in your mouth, crumbles, and then dissipates. There’s a very subtle crunch of tyrosine in the paste, to remind you that this is cheddar you are eating. It’s good, it’s really good!

I discovered a new cheese shop in Vancouver yesterday, which shocked me. I thought I knew of every slice of cheese in this town but Pane e Formaggio somehow slipped me by. It’s a cosy bread and cheese shop and deli with a small selection of cheeses- but the staff there were extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and that’s really what I’m looking for in a cheese shop. Please, talk cheese with me. I so appreciate people taking the time to indulge me in a little cheese chat. Bravo, Pane e Formaggio, I shall be back!

One cheese there which caught my eye was Ashley, by Albert’s Leap. Ashley has a line of ash running through it-get it-“Ash” ley. This line of ash theme is a common one in cheese-and basically a cheese nod to the great French cheese Morbier– traditionally made with a layer of ash running through the middle. Once upon a time, Morbier was made in small batches by monks in the dark ages in presumably dark monasteries. The line of ash separated the morning milk from the evening milk, keeping a rind from developing-like an ash band-aid. My Albert’s Leap was made in Ontario, probably in the light of day-but I appreciate the effort and the nod to tradition, nonetheless.

Ashley is a bloomy rind, ash dusted pasteurized goat’s milk cheese brought to us by Quality Cheese , specifically their Albert’s Leap brand. I confess to finding their website a little confusing. Firstly, it doesn’t mention Ashley at all. I have looked closely at the Ashley label, and it clearly is made by this company, so why the company does not describe it on its website is a little mysterious. Feel free to shed some light on this if you know the reason for the omission. The internet is also strangely mum about Ashley, so it may have been a limited run, or just a new product-who knows?

The site does reference this company being run by the Borgo family, specifically brothers Joe and Albert (who sometimes Leaps) who are carrying forward the tradition of cheese started by Italian Almerigo Borgo, who, “left for Canada in 1954 and by 1957 he decided that cheese was his passion and that he would begin his own venture.” Almerigo built the Quality Cheese company and mentored the next generation of Borgos to carry on his tradition.

Ashley is an attractive, showy cheese. As with all soft goat cheeses, this one has ripened from the outside in, so there’s a nice creamy yellow gooey rim, and a whiter chalky interior. It’s an attractive cheese, and would look great on a cheese board.The odour is mild and faintly farm-like, as it should be.

Here goes…

Hmm. There’s a lot going on here. It’s sticky and creamy and goaty, but doesn’t have the sweet note I was expecting. The rind is almost a little bitter-or maybe that’s the ash. The rind is also quite surprisingly chewy, but then there’s that gooey first layer, and chalky finish. It’s good, and I like the three textures, but I think I would want to eat this one with a little something sweet-fruit perhaps, or a quince jam?

Ashley is a real looker that would make a great compliment to any cheese board-but make sure you have a little sweet to go with this darling.

Last weekend I did something REALLY exciting: I went to visit a goat’s farm and fromagerie. I recognize that this may not be a top 5 on everyone’s bucket list, but that’s just sad-it really ought to be. Goat farms are fabulous, go and find one and visit it now, I command thee!

I’ve been kind of obsessing over Goat’s Pride “Blue Capri” cheese now for over a year, you can read my review of it here. But that review doesn’t really do it justice, and it certainly doesn’t explain the hankering I have for that cheese, like all the time. All I really want to do all day long, is eat Goat’s Pride Blue Capri. Alas, it’s darn hard to find, so I decided to go to the source- a small goat farm out in the City of Abbotsford, in the Lower Mainland of BC.

As we drove up the meandering driveway, I saw goat’s cavorting. Seriously! And these are tiny, wee goats, not the large goats I was expecting. They were knee high at best, and literally cavorting amongst fields of clover. It was ridiculously perfect. My heart filled with goat-loving joy, one could almost say, pride…Goat’s Pride.

Goat’s Pride is a family run business. The son is the cheese maker, and mom seems to run the store. She graciously showed us around the farm stand and explained the lay of the land. Basically, organic goat’s milk is almost impossible to source. All of their goat’s milk comes from their own small herd of (ridiculously cute) goats, but that’s not cutting it. They may have to look at alternative sources and alternative cheeses as they expand their line of products.

For the time being, Goat’s Pride continues to make a limited run of cheese including today’s Gouda Van Giet, and yes, I did also buy three blocks of the Blue Capri for my own private joy.

According to their wrapper, Van Giet means “from the goat” in Dutch. As Gouda- and the Goat’s Pride family- are all Dutch, it seems only fitting. This cheese truly is “from the Dutch.”

Gouda Van Giet is a certified organic cheese, and the milk and cheese are processed directly on the farm. This Gouda is aged about a year-if memory serves me correctly. Unfortunately, their website is currently down, so I can’t double check, but let’s go with that. I’m assuming they pasteurize their milk, as it doesn’t say “raw” anywhere, but it’s made on the farm from happy goats, so for me, that’s about as good as it gets.

I digress, my vitamin A rich Gouda is a stark white, it’s firm without discernible texture in the smooth paste. It has no rind. The smell is faint and slightly goaty. It beckons me. Yes, it’s not Blue Capri, but a very close cousin, “try me,” it says.

Here goes…

So complex! It’s like one of those gobstoppers that changes flavour as you go down a level. Initially, salty and goaty, but then, a caramel undertone emerges. It’s rich and salty. It’s also salty, did I mention that? The texture is not as smooth as I expected, the paste holds up to chewing, keeping its integrity. It’s pretty mellow for a goat’s cheese, nothing scary here. It’s chilled out and toothsome.

OK, I like this cheese, but I’m not completely obessed with it, as I am with their Blue Capri. But that’s ok, not everyone appreciates mouldy goat’s cheese, I get that. This is a beautiful, organic, family and farmstead made goat’s Gouda. Try it, it just might be your slice of cheese.

Some days are perfect. Cheese. Mountains. Tumbling down hills in spectacular wipeouts in front of crowds. Perfect!

Today was such a day. I competed in the Great Canadian Cheese Rolling Competition in Whistler, BC. Now personally, as an athlete-this was a debacle, but make no mistake- I was there to complete, not to compete, and complete I did.

As I discussed previously in cheese review number 74, Double Gloucester https://myblogofcheese.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/day-74-double-gloucester/ cheese rolling has been going on for hundreds of years in England, and no one really knows why. Every year in the town of Coopers Hill, a round of Double Gloucester cheese rolls, and a boisterous gang of drunken, mostly male youth chases after it. Quite often breaks and sprains and sometimes grievous injuries result-in fact-a line of ambulances greats the cheese and runners at the bottom of Coopers Hill. The cheese roll has actually gotten a little ugly for poor old Cooper’s Hill due to overcrowding-mostly of wannabe outsiders as well as general rowdiness. In fact, there has been talk of canceling the roll at Cooper’s Hill on a permanent basis. So sad!

Thus, the best option for all who yearn to chase a cheese down a hill is for each Country to have its own cheese rolling contest, and leave poor Cooper’s Hill alone! This is just what the good folks at http://www.canadiancheeserolling.ca/ have done for the last 5 years. Sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Canada it’s one of Canada’s “most exciting and unique sporting events” and was held today on August 18th in Whistler, British Columbia and yours truly competed. Oh yes she did.

Now-why chase cheese down a hill, one might rightly ask. I’m sorry to say I don’t know that there is an answer to this question. It’s something innate..the need to chase and hunt, and in this case to chase and hunt a cheese. Why a cheese?Why a mountain? I’m not sure, I wish it were a little less steep, quite frankly, but there it is. It simply must be experienced, it cannot be explained. Get this on your bucket list now and thank me later. Just do it, ok?

There were several hundred other like-minded cheese and mountain focussed people gathered around together under the baking hot Whistler sun. At the bottom of the “hill” clustered several vendors giving free snackies of cheese. I-of course-snagged some Cows Avonlea Cloth Bound Cheddar (actually two wedges came home with me) and chatted with people about the joys of Alpindon Cheese and scored some of my all-time favorite Comox Brie by Natural Pastures. Really, there was lots of great cheese to be had for free and also free cheese seminars-although I was too busy vamping around for photo ops to take advantage of them. For instance, below I am pictured with Wally Smith, president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, yup-that’s how I roll!

There were several male and female heats in this race of about 10 racers in each heat. At last, it was time for the “green band females” to get dressed in protective gear. We “green-band” females huddled in the athlete’s tent while I amused/assailed my co-green banders with stories of the history of cheese rolling (sorry ladies). Then it was time to hike up the “hill.” At the top of this heinously steep “hill” (mountain) the racers (in protective garb) got to touch-or in my case-kiss-the cheese for luck. This cheese was a custom-made Natural Pastures 11-pound wheel of Cracked Pepper Verdelait cheese (not a double Gloucester). The Cracked Pepper Verdelait was then set free to tumble down the hill at 65 KM/hour while the racers raced behind it. Really, race is such a strong word, it’s more like try so hard no to die. You can’t stop yourself, you are falling down a mountain uncontrollably, falling after a round of cheese. I actually made it about 2/3 of the way before going arse over teakettle down the hill a bit and scratching up my side and hands, but what glorious scratches! I shall treasure them forever and brag ad nausea-um at work over them. Behold my glorious tumble!

There were also costume contests and other fun activities for the whole family, but I was so focussed on the race that I only snapped this one picture of some charming cows, bucket of milk and cheese who ran in my heat-actually the cow came in second.

What can I say? You really must add this one to your bucket list. It’s a great fun day of insane activity and free cheese, does it get any better than that? Bravo Canadian Cheese Rolling contest, I bummed I didn’t win, but there’s always next year, right?

It’s getting harder these days to really excite me about a new cheese. I’m perhaps a little jaded, 123 cheeses into this strange little foray of mine…but yesterday-my heart stopped. While at my local cheese shop looking for something “sexy, Canadian, and hard” (yes, those were my criteria, don’t laugh) my eyes fell upon something I had somehow missed before. It was a large handsome cheese: hard, firm, Canadian…organic, unpasteurized, and a gold medal winner…breathing harder, yes…this is the cheese I have been looking for, and it was right under my nose.

You see, it turns out that I really am mad for Canadian cheese-all things being equal-which they aren’t, of course. To find a great cheese made in my homeland just seems right. There’s supporting your fellow Canadians, then’s there’s the carbon footprint, et cetera, but really, why not eat Canadian cheese? Especially when Canadians are so damn good at making damn good cheese, especially the French-why? Why is it always Quebec? This is a great mystery to me.

I digress. Today’s handsome (and hard and Canadian, I did mention that, right) cheese is a Comte look alike (and I love me some Comte) made by the Quebecois Fromagerie du Presbytere. It’s a cow’s milk cheese made with organic milk right on the farm. It’s rare to find such a large Mountain Style cheese made here in Canada as it takes quite a commitment to make and then store a cheese of this size. I reviewed another cheese by this groovy fromagerie back in my early cheese days-Laliberte which was an unctuous and yummy triple cream brie, but today’s cheese is their eponymous headliner-and I tend to think that when something is eponymous, it’s really special!

I’m kind of stealing this next bit from my old review, but it just bears repeating, and it’s not theft if it’s from yourself. “The farm of Louis d’or, is a family run company operated by four generations of the Morin family. Even better, it’s artisanal, family owned, and organic. This family turned to organic farming in the 1980′s, which makes them early adopters. The farm has a herd of Holstein and Jersey cows which graze in the organic pastures of clover, timothy grass, bluegrass and other organic grains. These cows are never given antibiotics or hormones. In 2005 this Morin family decided to remodel an old church rectory called Sainte-Élizabeth de Warwick. It was located just in front of their farm. All their cheese is now made in this refurbished building and the family only makes artisanal organic certified cheese. Wow, this is sounding like an ad for this fromagerie. But come on, a refurbished cheese rectory.”

This beautiful cheese is remarkable for its size- it’s made in 40 KG wheels, and has a washed rind and a firm pressed cooked paste. It is made from raw milk, so pregnant ladies we warned! Typically this cheese is served at the 9 month age-and this is the one that won all the prizes, but my little sample is the Vieille or aged and is 18 months old. Yes, be jealous of me, that’s perfectly understandable. Louis D’Or (at the 9 month age) is a big winner taking the 2011 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix Grand Champion as well as best in class in firm cheese, farmhouse cheese, organic cheese too, and the American Cheese Society best of show third place, along with numerous other awards. Are you impressed yet? How can we ask for more? It’s an award winning family made cheese based on happy organic cows and a refurbished rectory. I’m sold.

My long slice of Louis d’or Vieille which from the sounds of it I was lucky to find-due to the popularity of this cheese, is an attractive creamy yellow with a dark brown natural rind. I see other reviews referencing eyes in this cheese, but my sample does not contain them…mine is also the 18 month version, so I am unclear if this is the cause. It appears as though there is some crystallization or tyrosine throughout the paste-which makes me crazy with desire…I love me some tyrosine! It smells wonderful, nutty and deep and really for all the world like a Comte. It’s a mellow and mature cheese, it’s begging me to enter into a conversation with it…and I shall.

Here goes…

There’s so much going on here, I don’t even know where to start. First, it’s floral, and sweet, I’m so shocked! It’s very mellow and round, but ultimately very, very sweet and benign more like a great Gruyere than anything else. There are no sharp or uric notes whatsoever, it’s just totally mellowed out, it’s like a Zen master of cheese. Sweet, round, mellow, pleased with itself and the balance it has achieved in this world. The texture is fabulous, it’s firm to the teeth, but enjoys a little chew before dissolving into a sweet milky paste-there’s a faint fleck or tyrosine, but that’s not the show stopper here-the show stopper is the taste, it’s really unlike anything I have ever tasted before, it’s clover, sunshine, friendship and happiness. It’s a revelation in cheese. Unlike many cheeses this one should be eaten by itself, with nothing else-it’s cheese in the purest form: complex, developed, wise, sumptuous. If you can get your hands on this cheese, do it, you can thank me later.

Holy Hannah Louis D’Or, you are most definitely my slice of cheese, bravo!

Do you ever get obsessed with something? I’m sure that any reader of this blog would not be surprised that I do- and that in fact, the thing that I get obsessed with (along with impractical shoes) is cheese. Specific cheese. I will read an article or review on a cheese, and it will become stuck in my head…I must have it! But sometimes, this is easier said than done. Artisinal cheese is simply not always available. Many cheeses are only produced at certain times of the year, and depending on how much aging a cheese needs, it’s only released ever so often. Consider an 8 year old cheddar, it needs to wait around (hiding) for eight years before going on sale. This is cruel!

One of my little cheese obsessions (and I say here, one-as there are-in fact, many) has been a Canadian cheese that has eluded me now for months, Grey Owl. Every time I go to look for it, they are “just out…” “oh, we just sold the last of it,” the cheese monger will cruelly utter…seriously, it’s a conspiracy. I’m not sure if I have been clear enough here, I NEED this cheese. It is first, a goat’s milk cheese, and second, it’s Canadian, and lastly, it references history! It’s a freaking cheese Yahtzee. But still, no Grey Owl for Willow, until finally, last week. I purchased the last remaining piece from a local store, and this little darling is mine, oh yes-all mine-not that anyone else in my family would touch it with a ten foot pole-but still, it is all mine.

Grey Owl is a goat’s milk cheese made by the Fromagerie Le Détour in Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec by the husband and wife team of Ginette Bégin and Mario Quirion. Interestingly, my husband and I only make children together, imagine how lucky these folk are! Yet another cheese from Quebec. Seriously, they are making the rest of Canada look bad. Just saying. Grey Owl is a really new cheese, first sold in the USA only in 2007, and here in Canada in early 2008. The name Grey Owl, of course-as any good Canadian knows, is a nod to the story of Archie Belaney, AKA “Grey Owl” who was one of the first champions for the conservation of nature in Canada. Grey Owl lived in the region where this fromagerie now stands, so there’s actually a local connection here to the name. Of course, there’s also a pun in the name, as there is in all the best cheeses. This cheese is rolled in ash, and is thus grey…hardy har!

The milk for Grey Owl cheese is pasteurized (sadly) and comes from Saanen goats-Swiss goats who live near the dairy, but not on site. Now a word on ash and goat’s milk cheese, the two go together regularly, and do offer a beautiful contrast between the bright white of a goat’s milk cheese and the dark grey ash coating. When you see these two together, you know you have a goat’s milk cheese. Historically this was done to protect the young cheese from insects, and also help produce a rind for a fragile cheese. The ash is totally edible, and I like to think that it is somewhat medicinal, as we used to feed our dogs charcoal. I have no basis of fact for this, it’s just something I like to think. In truth, the ash can counter the lemony tang present in goat’s milk, as it tends to act as an alkaline.

My little coveted wedge of Grey Owl waits for me here at my desk. It has collapsed into a wet heart-shaped piece of cheese as it warms up and starts to ooze. It is both hideous and beautiful. The grey ash seems counter-intuitive to my taste buds who typically do not search out the colour grey, but the white oozing interior beckons me…eat me…eat me.The exterior, just under the rind, has ripened and is sticky and glistens: the interior core, white and chalky. The smell is mild yet undeniably present. “Yes, I am a goat cheese,” it whispers, “I am proud.” My mouth squirts with anticipation.

Here goes…

Ohhhhh. It’s delicious! It’s surpassingly mild, I was expecting more of a goat kick. It’s really well-balanced. Really, the texture is the show-stopper for me, I can’t get enough of the sticky outer layer mixed with the rind and chalky core, it makes me crazy! It sticks to my tongue and teeth. The cheese itself is really chilled out, the lemon taste is present yet dialed back. There’s the faintest peppery kick at the finish, but mostly it’s a creamy, ever so slightly goaty cheese. This one would be perfect smeared on something. Baguette, a pear, a good friend! The real Grey Owl was one of Canada’s first conservationists, and in his honour, I shall also conserve this little darling for me and me alone!

As I round out my 100 day journey into cheese, it’s important to remember that not everyone has access to cheese shops in a big city. Although in theory there are hundreds of cheeses available in Canada-in practice, cheese selection can be quite limited, especially if you live in a small town. That’s why I was so thrilled to discover the joy of Woolrich Dairy goat brie, and Oka cheese. Both of these are produced in factories and are widely available, but both totally rock my world. Cheese can be extremely expensive, especially if it has to be shipped across an ocean to get here, so I really am open to local cheese. With this is mind I am sampling my last commercially produced Canadian cheese. This one is called Rondoux Double Creme, and it is produced by the cheese giant Agropur in-where else? Quebec.

The name Agropur may be familiar to readers of this blog, as I discussed it previously in my review of Oka cheese. Agropur is a large Quebec cooperative that has been making cheese and dairy products since 1937. The Société coopérative agricole du Canton de Granby, eventually became the Agropur cooperative in 2000. It is composed of 86 producers from Granby and the surrounding area. Agropur is bucking the trend of locally operated cooperatives. It’s influence has spread across Quebec and Canada. Agropur includes brands such as Yoplait, Olympia, and Island Farms. Agropur is ubiquitous.

I have noticed today’s cheese for at least a year at the supermarket. Rondoux Double Creme and it’s Rondoux siblings are all sold in adorable little round wooden boxes, and I am a sucker for good marketing. By my reckoning, Rondoux is a brie cheese in all but name. Interestingly, Agropur doesn’t use the “B” word in any of its promotional material for this cheese. In fact, there is virtually no promotional material for Rondoux Double Creme at all, despite the fact that I see its little wooden box just about everywhere. This is a little strange, don’t you think?

As I have mentioned, I am a sucker for marketing. The instructions on the back of the wooden box state that you can do your own home affinage, (ok, they don’t use that phrase, this is just me). According to the instructions, this cheese is “young” 40 days before the best before date, and is thus “soft and slightly tart,” it is “semi-ripened” 25 days before the best before date and “mild and velvety,” and it is “fully ripened” right before the best before date and “rich and creamy.” That’s kind of cool. My sample today is almost smack on the best before date. I never before knew this was something to aim for in a cheese.

I don’t know much about the production of Rondoux Double Creme as no one is talking, and I hate that. As it’s a brie, it’s a young cheese, helped along by some friendly moulds. It’s made from cow’s milk that is pasteurized. This cheese is made in the Corneville cheesemaking factory. As this one is a Double Creme, creme is added to the cheese to make it richer, there’s also a triple creme variety out there, but I am trying to finish this blog without getting overly fat, so no thanks. Interestingly, despite the fact that no one seems to be talking about Rondoux Double Creme, this little darling is a rock star! Rondoux Double Creme WON the 2011 American Cheese society in the SOFT RIPENED CHEESES. That’s pretty freaking fantastic, I don’t know why Agropur isn’t screaming this from the tops of the mountains, I certainly would if this were my cheese.

My little wedge of Rondoux is simpering quietly beside me. It’s an unassuming little cheese. When I cut into it my knife stuck into the interior and a little bit oozed out. This is a good sign! There is a white bloomy rind of mould, edible-of course, and a creamy-looking interior with a few small eyes. The very middle has turned to goo. It smells mildly of mushrooms and toes.

Here goes…

Ahhh. Freaking fabulous! Really, this cheese totally rocks! It’s absolutely divine in flavour, the mushroomy paste matches the creamy, salty and slightly sweet interior. There is a hint of ammonia, but it’s kept in check by a harmonious balance of salt, sweet and unctuous joy. The texture is great. The gooey middle is exactly as I hoped: sticky, cloying, melting, sensual-it’s making sweet love to my tongue and teeth. Wow, I can’t believe this cheese is this good. I heartily recommend this one if you are looking for a fabulous and affordable little brie from Canada, you can’t go wrong. This one is definitely, my slice of cheese.